In the first part of this two-semester course, we will identify the basic characteristics of the 19th century British novel. Exploring the changes that the 19th century brought to social and literary life, we will discuss how the novels published in this time period were influenced by these changes. The conditions under which the writers produced their works, the nature of their audience and the economic background of literary production are some of the topics that we will investigate throughout the semester. The analysis of the background will be accompanied by thematic discussions on the topics such as gender, class, love, and education. Formal analyses extending from the narrative techniques of the novels to the writers’ stylistic peculiarities will also constitute an important part of the course.